Thread: Instructions for c programming interview

  1. #1
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    Instructions for c programming interview

    Hi,
    i am looking for job change and i am having 3+ Years experience

    How should i prepare for that interview from Starting round to HR round.
    Please give me suggestions

    waiting for Your Suggestions,
    Yours Faithfully,
    Rupendra Naidu.

  2. #2
    Code Goddess Prelude's Avatar
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    Make sure you're up to date on the requirements of the job. Learn about the company beforehand so it doesn't look like you shotgunned your resume to dozens of companies hoping for a hit. Otherwise, just be yourself and try to get a feel for whether the company fits your goals. Don't forget that interviews go both ways. You're interviewing them just as much as they're interviewing you.
    My best code is written with the delete key.

  3. #3
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    just be yourself
    I'll second that. Sometimes you're afraid that you need to change things to get the job, but

    1) Being more confident and relaxed gives a better impression, IMO
    2) You don't want a job where you can never be yourself
    3) The things you do differently might also be things they're not looking for.

    So again - be yourself. Be honest, be sincere, but be confident, too etc... I really think that's the most important part.

    Just review the specific skills they're looking for, and make sure you can answer specific questions related to those skills. You don't need to stay up all night or anything - but just be aware of what they want, and try your best to give that to them.

  4. #4
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Prepare ahead of time for the interview. Nothing irks me more in an interview than a candidate that obviously has not prepared. Be prepared to answer difficult questions. I would recommend reading a few books. For my C/C++ interview I read Bjarne's book from cover to cover prior to the interviews. If you are doing C or C++ in your current job then you probably will not have any trouble with the common knowledge items. However I find many people who code in C++ yet do not use abstract base classes, stl containers, templates, etc. Brush up on the hard stuff. If you have been mostly maintaining an existing code base and not doing much design brush up on that as well. Every job is different and if all you have been doing is maintaining a database or using a 3rd party API wrapper to some library you may want to read some books. If this is indeed a pure C interview then find a book on C and read it before the interview.

    Also if you absolutely do not know something then don't pretend as if you do. After having prepared there are still things that might catch you off guard. If you do not know how to do something or do not understand something then just say that. No one person knows everything there is to know about programming and admitting when you don't know something means a lot. It means that if you get the job and get assigned something you are unsure about you won't hack your way through it acting as if you know and cause all sorts of problems and possibly delays.

    It's also a good idea to learn about the company, as has been said. This gets very high marks b/c hardly anyone ever does it so when you do it's easy to stand out. It may mean the difference between landing it and not landing it. If you have the same exact qualifications and experience as another candidate but showed a genuine interest in the company and what they do by researching and learning about it - be assured that fact alone will put you ahead of the other candidate.

    I'm only giving advice based on what I look for in a candidate and I'm sure others here are or have interviewed candidates for their respective companies.
    Last edited by VirtualAce; 08-21-2009 at 07:20 PM.

  5. #5
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    There's also a case for how well you can articulate your thoughts and express your ideas. This is generally viewed as a bonus, since it is particularly important when explaining your own code or discussing a project during its early stages.

    It's possible that you might be tested for this in a subliminal way. A question like "can you please explain to me what you think this piece of code does?" might be more than just a test to your programming knowledge. As such, I suggest you keep your speech simple and avoid the trap of using expensive words to make you look schooled. Words like "subliminal" or "schooled"

    I personally don't favor this trait much, contrary to what I feel is the general opinion. Might be because I'm biased since I'm not in fact very good at articulating my thoughts both in writing and in speech. I tend to think ahead of what I'm saying too much and my brain and my mouth end up getting out of sync. This results in somewhat frequent moments when I lose track of what I intended to say, or don't explain myself very well and have to go back to do it again. So if this is a problem for you too, do try everything in your power to avoid it.

    EDIT: I do tend to warn my interviewers if I'm felling particularly nervous that day or if at first glance I feel I will have trouble answering a certain question in a concise way. I may even go the extra mile and just be plain about this problem if I felt I just made that mistake. This tends to be better viewed than making a mess of yourself and give the impression you didn't even notice.
    Last edited by Mario F.; 08-21-2009 at 08:10 PM.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F. View Post
    It's possible that you might be tested for this in a subliminal way. A question like "can you please explain to me what you think this piece of code does?" might be more than just a test to your programming knowledge. As such, I suggest you keep your speech simple and avoid the trap of using expensive words to make you look schooled. Words like "subliminal" or "schooled"
    Well clearly Mario this falls into a certain category:

    Quote Originally Posted by sean View Post
    2) You don't want a job where you can never be yourself
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Good point. But never take an advice to the letter. Be ready to compromise and accept that being yourself also means not always behaving like yourself. Human nature at its best.

    edit: ...and the possibility of getting the job.
    Last edited by Mario F.; 08-21-2009 at 08:48 PM.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  8. #8
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Be ready to compromise and accept that being yourself also means not always behaving like yourself.
    In most cases I would recommend you never let your hair down too far in any interview setting. There will be time for that when you get the job. Being yourself basically means don't pretend to be something or somebody you are not. It does not mean act like you do when you are hanging with your friends. The interviewers are not your friends....yet.

  9. #9
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bubba View Post
    In most cases I would recommend you never let your hair down too far in any interview setting.
    Is it okay to use profanity?
    Last edited by MK27; 08-21-2009 at 10:09 PM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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